Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
As millennials continue to drive the overall percentage in mobile device usage, it has become clearly evident just how important these smart phones have become. More than just phone calls, text messages and social media, users are able to make purchases from their own digital wallets embedded into their phones. One’s mobile wallet electronically manages payments and other activities that would typically be handled by physical plastic cards. A tap or a scan across the retailer’s payment terminal will finalize one’s transaction and it’s as simple as that. Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay are the hardware-specific wallets that smartphone users are offered to help complete these mobile purchases.
Digital Wallet Usages
- Mobile Payments
- Loyalty Programs
- Bank Accounts
- Health Insurance Cards
- Age Verification/Identification Information
Benefits of Digital Wallets
Users who utilize digital wallets are satisfied with saving time and convenience. While they are making a purchase, these five benefits often come into play.
Convenience
You will no longer have to dig through your purse and fish through your plethora of credit cards and loyalty program IDs. All of your necessities will be right on your mobile device. You can throw away the idea of bulky wallets and cluttered purses from now on.
Security
Mobile payments are actually just as secure as physical cards, due to unpopular belief. Mobile payments can be protected by their own devices through home screen passcodes. Each transaction’s payment is encrypted. It is known that a consumer’s personal information is no more exposed to online hacking than when using loyalty program cards or credit cards.
Increased Customer Value
Digital wallets can essentially deliver reduced customer acquisition costs, drive operation costs down and improve customer value, overall. Digital wallets can also make it easy for both retailers ad consumers to organize and use coupons & discounts, streamline loyalty card processing, access digital receipts and even managing budgets. Companies such as Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts have developed apps to assist consumers in their own custom marketing messages and the ability to order ahead from the comfort of your phone.
Cons of Digital Wallets
Security, again
Though encryptions are the likelihood of a potential hacker compensating your financial and personal information, it’s actually very rare for that to occur. The largest consumer fear is that users misplace their mobile device or it is stolen, along with all of the logged credentials.
Technical Difficulties
This isn’t the largest issue, but sometimes loyalty programs will have glitches. When apps freeze up or a payment service lags, it can cause some issues for the consumer trying to purchase their coffee in the morning.
Availability
Many restaurants and retail stores aren’t even adopting these mobile payment options. They may not possess a payment terminal that accepts mobile wallets. They also may not even hold the capacity to educate their employees with the knowledge to run these hardware systems successfully.
It tends to show that the pros outweigh the cons. Even though brands are developing their own means of mobile ordering and financial management, there are still a copious amount of software updates and needs ISVs can fulfill for their customers. This is the opportunity to hop on board and get to developing more mobile user-friendly applications to cut down. They will save on time and up the convenience to make transactions from the palm of your hand.
So what does this mean for VARs?
As a reseller, how could you capitalize on this growing trend? With the rise of mobile upgrades, business owners are going to need POS accessories, hardware & software bundles, (In-a-Box Solutions), Solutions as a Service (SaaS), and expert advice & guidance to help restaurant and retail owners transition into these updates. As a VAR, you should be having these conversations with your customers. The talk of the digital wallet opportunity and how your customers can benefit from it will be beneficial for planning ahead and being prepared for new advancements to come.
